The Ultimate Beast World Glow-Up novel Chapter 18

Chapter 18 Interrogation

“I’m already destroyed. What more do you want? Must Idie before you’re happy?”

She moved forward, eyes closed, pushing toward the knife.

Finished

The blade jerked back. Elijah’s laugh was soft, cold, and ruel. “If you didn’t look exactly like her, I’d swear you were a fake.

“Funny how you’ve changed. Suddenly you can cook. Suddenly you can save lives. You’ve become someone worth watching.”

The icy tip of the knife lifted her chin. Elijah’s face was awless and cold, like marble lit by firelight. Rosalie’s heart pounded, but she didn’t look away.

She held his gaze, knowing exactly what kind of man stood before her. Elijah wasn’t bluffing. He would kill her without hesitation.

“Enough.”

Leon’s voice tore through the room like thunder. He swung his arm, knocking the knife clean from Elijah’s hand. The blade nicked Rosalie’s jaw, and a thin line of blood shimmered down her pale skin.

The sting burned.

Elijah turned his head, his eyes locking with Leon’s.

Rosalie’s knees went weak. Her body turned to ice. She started to fall, but Leon caught her around the waist before she hit the floor.

Her wrist still ached from where he’d grabbed her earlier. Without thinking, she shoved him away. Leon froze in place, arms suspended midair, disbelief flickering across his face.

The door slammed open. Micah stood in the doorway, his gaze cutting straight to Rosalie’s pale cheeks and the crimson streak on her face.

The air in the room changed instantly. It grew heavy, sharp, suffocating. He stormed forward, his movement quick and violent, knocking Leon aside before sweeping Rosalie into his arms.

His pupils thinned into razor slits, gleaming like a serpent’s in the candlelight. Every breath he took seemed to hum with the threat of venom.

Elijah sighed, bored, his lips curling faintly. “How dull.” e turned and walked out, his footsteps echoing coldly down the hall.

Leon reached forward, his hand trembling slightly. He wanted to wipe the blood from Rosalie’s chin, but she turned her head and buried it against Micah’s chest, refusing his touch.

Micah’s hand shot out, slapping Leon’s away with force. lis tone was as cold as steel. “She doesn’t want you touching her.”

He lifted her with ease and walked out.

Cameron tore free from Declan’s hold and chased after hem, panic flashing in his eyes.

Leon’s hand moved to his chest. The sound of his heart eat pounded against the faint crackle of the candle

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18:17 Tue, Dec 30GG.

Chapter 18 Interrogation

flame.

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Finished

He didn’t understand himself anymore. He knew she wasn’t the same Matriarch he once knew. He could have exposed her truth tonight. Elijah had practically handed him the chance.

But he hadn’t taken it. He’d stopped the knife instead. And when she looked at him with fear in her eyes, his chest had twisted with pain so deep it almost made him sick.

She was scared of him. That realization clawed at him like a wound that wouldn’t heal.

Leon stood there in silence for what felt like forever. Then he exhaled slowly, his gaze dropping to the floor. Something inside him shifted, quiet but final.

In her room, Rosalie sat at the edge of the bed. Micah knelt in front of her, carefully wiping the blood from her face with a soft cloth.

Her body had stopped trembling. She looked at him and forced a faint smile. “Thank you, Micah.”

His eyes softened, full of worry that seemed to darken at the edges. He took her hand gently, his thumb brushing her skin. “Matriarch,” he said softly, “what do you think of me?”

Rosalie froze. Her breath caught. She tried to pull her hand free, but his grip only tightened.

“You’re a good beastman, Micah,” she whispered. “You’re the gentlest one I’ve ever met.”

His gaze lingered on her face, intense and unshaken. “Then let me be yours,” he said quietly. “Let me be your real husband, Matriarch.”

Rosalie’s thoughts scattered. She couldn’t grasp if Micah meant what she feared he meant.

Micah spoke again. His voice was steady. “Matriarch, I’m serious. I don’t care how you treated me before. I’m done holding on to that.”

He leaned closer. “I want to stay with you. I want to protect you. I want to take care of you.”

“Micah, I told you I would write you a letter of release, you…”

She never finished. Warm lips brushed hers and stole the rest. His scent swept over her. The kiss broke a second later, quick but enough to freeze her breath.

Micah dropped to his knees. His back stayed rigid. “Matiarch, don’t talk about any release. I won’t leave.”

His knees hit the floor with a hard thud. The sound shot through the room like a strike. It made her own legs twitch.

Heat climbed up her neck. He had brought this up so many times, and she had dodged him each time. Now he knelt in front of her, stubborn and determined.

She let out a sigh. She couldn’t run from it anymore.

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